Adjustable orthopedic support



Aug. 1s, 1959 A,SAMUELS ETAL 2,899,758

ADJUSTABLE ORTHOPEDIC SUPPORT Filed Aug. 6, 1958 INVENTOR ABE SAMUELSdoH/v CALL/60N ATTORNEYS 'United States Patent ADJUSTABLE ORTHOPEDICSUPPORT Abe Samuels and John F. Callison, Douglas, Ariz.

Application August 6, 1958, Serial No. 753,555

3 Claims. (Cl. 36-71) The present invention relates to adjustableorthopedic supports for shoes, and has particular reference to animproved adjustable orthopedic support formed vby two plates positionedbetween inner and outer soles of shoes, having coupling means to alignthe plates together, and an adjusting member to vary the distancebetween the plates.

In the art of orthopedic supports, it has always been desirable toprovide -an adjustable orthopedic support that is easily assembled intothe structure of the shoe. However, with most such supports diiculty hasbeen encountered in making the adjustment in the support necessary tosatisfy the needs of the user, after the support has been assembled inthe shoe. In part this has been due to the fact that the pair of platesforming the support are oriented with respect to each other at only onepoint, namely, at the point of the adjusting member.

Accordingly, the present invention is directed to an adjustableorthopedic support for a shoe in which both plates are knurled orpronged throughout the surface engaging the inner and outer soles, orare provided with a coupling means such as a tongue and slot arrangementso that the possibility of any misalignment of the pair of plates toeach other and to the inner and outer soles is eliminated.

Another object of the invention is to provide an adjusting member forvarying the distance between the plates wherein the adjusting member hasa right hand thread beginning at the center and progressing to one endthereof, and a left hand thread beginning also at the center andprogressing to the other end. The pair of plates are so provided thatone plate is tapped to receive the right hand thread of the adjustingmember and the other plate is tapped to receive the left hand thread ofthe adjusting member.

A complete understanding of my invention may be had from the followingdescription of a particular embodiment of the invention. In thedescription, reference is made to the accompanying drawings of which:

Figure 1 is a portion of a plan view of a shoe showing the manner inwhich the pair of plates forming the adjustable orthopedic supports ofthe invention are assembled;

Figure 2 is a plan view showing details of one plate in accordance withone embodiment of the invention;

Figure 3 is a plan view showing details of one plate in accordance withanother embodiment of the invention;

Figure 4 is a portion of a side View of an adjustable orthopedic supportof the invention taken along line 4-4 of Figure l;

Figure 5 is a portion of an enlarged cross-sectional side View of a pairof plates in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

Figure 6 is a portion of an enlarged cross-sectional side view of a pairof plates in accordance with another embodiment of the invention;

Figures 7 and 8 show enlarged end views of an adrice 2 l justing memberused in accordance with the invention;

Figs. 9 and 10 are perspective views of details of a pair of the platesbefore they are assembled between the inner and outer soles of a shoe inaccordance with the invention. Y

Referring now to Figures l to 4 there is shown a portion of a shoe 10having an inner sole 12 and an outer sole 14. Between these soles arepositioned a plurality of pairs of substantially resilient plates 16composed of a material such as steel, aluminum, or a non-corrosivematerial such as plastic. The pairs of plates may be of various sizesand configurations, dependent on the desired location in which theplates are interposed be-l. tween the inner and outer soles. v

The pairs of plates 16 are secured to the adjacent respective inner soleand outer sole by staples, rivets, or stitching, which is insertedeither through openings 1 8, in the embodiment of plate shown in Figure3 or through serrated or scalloped vedges 20 in the'embodiment of plateshown in Fig. 2. The `openings and scalloped edges are prepared so thatthe spacing of the openings thereof may accommodate the stitchingoperation of a sewing machine, a riveting machine, o1' a staplingmachine, or the like. The plate adjacent the inner sole may be sewed orattached to the inner sole, and the other plate may be sewed or attachedto the outer sole.

An adjusting member 22 extends through at least a portion of the pair ofplates 16 so that the distance between the plates may be varied asdesired. One manner in which this may be achieved is to -provide theadjusting member with right hand threads beginning at one end` of theadjusting member and vprogressing toward'the center thereof, and withleft hand threads'beginning at the other end of the adjusting memberyand progressing also toward the center thereof. One of the pair ofplates is tapped to receive the right hand thread of the adjustingmember and the other plate of the pair is tapped to receive the lefthand thread of the adjusting member. The tapped portion of each of theplates is positioned at substantially corresponding points of the pairof plates and is generally at a position inward from peripheral portionsof the plates.

The adjusting member 22 is shown in detail in Figures 6 and 7 and asecond embodiment is `shown in Figure 8. The member may have an Allentype head 24 as shown in Figure 8 or preferably may have a slotted head26 as seen in Figure 7. The outer sole 14, shown in Figure 1, isprovided with opening 23 therethrough to provide for the manipulation oradjustment of the adjusting member 22 by turning the Allen type head 24or the slotted head 26 with an appropriate tool.

Referring to Figure 5 there is illustrated an embodiment of theinvention wherein the pair of plates 16 is formed of a non-metallic orsoft metal material having threaded steel bushings or inserts 28provided to receive the correspondingly threaded portions of theadjusting member.

According to the preferred construction of the invention the pair ofplates are provided with a coupling means such as a tongue and slot`arrangement shown at 30 in Figures 9 and l0. The tongue and slotarrangement 30 comprises a tongue 31 in one plate which enters a slot 33in the other plate. This construction is found to eliminate thepossibility of any misalignment of the pair of plates as the plates areassembled with the inner and outer soles of the shoe, and during thenormal use of the adjustable orthopedic support.

The exterior surfaces of the pair of plates are preferably knurled orpronged or the like, to assist and simplify the attachment of theexterior surfaces to the respective adjacent inner sole and outer sole.This is exemplified in Figures 2, 3, 9 and 10 of the drawings by thestruck out tabs 35. A lip 32 at a periphery of the plate adjacent theouter sole is provided to eliminate theiaccumulation within the areabetween the plates of such foreign material as gravel, mud, etcv Theadjustable orthopedic support of the invention may be installed in theshoe during the manufacturing process, or after such manufacture byplacing the support in position after separating the inner Vand outersole of the shoe.

It will be thus apparent that the new apparatus may be used to eliminatethe possibility of error which has previously existed in modifyingstandard shoes to pro- Vide orthopedie correction. The height of theSupport prescribed for the same foot may vary from time to time as thefoot becomes stronger or weaker, or otherwise changes in itscharacteristics and this change may be accommodated by the device ofthis invention. Adjustment of the support to correct for such variationsis simply accomplished by a turn of the adjusting member. Shoes may bemanufactured with the orthopedic support in them and then simplyIadjusted by the retailV dealer or physician to provide the desiredamount of correction.

The invention may be embodied in other specic forms without departingfrom the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The presentembodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects asillustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention beingindicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoingdescription, and all changes which come within the meaning and range ofequivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed and described to be secured by United States LettersPatent is:

1. An orthopedic support for a shoe having inner and outer solescomprising a pair of spaced substantially parallel resilient plateshaving similar areas less than half the width and length of a shoe, saidpair of plates being interposed in stacked relation between the innersole and the outer sole of the shoe, a coupling means formed atcorresponding peripheral positions of said plates aligning each plate tothe other when in the interposed stacked relation, spaced means alongthe edge of one of said plates remote from said coupling means forattaching to a peripheral portion of one of said soles and a rotatableadjusting screw member extending through at least a portion of each ofsaid plates at a position adjacent said edge of said one plate forvarying the spacing of said plates.

2. An orthopedic support as set out in claim 1, wherein one of said pairof resilient plates includes a lip at the outer peripheral portionthereof to eliminate the entry and accumulation of foreign materialbetween the pair of plates of the orthopedic support.

3. An orthopedic support as set out in claim 1 wherein said adjustingscrew member comprisingV a screw threaded in one direction through oneof the plates and in the opposite direction through the other plate.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNlTED STATES PATENTS912,584 Lowe Feb. 16, 1909 1,523,353 Winchell Ian. 13, 1925 1,662,814Alfred Mar. 20, 1928 1,853,550 Copithorn Apr. 12,. 1932 2,018,386Sherman Oct. 22, 1935 2,050,006 Heuer Aug. 4,V 1936 2,050,973 Kurtz Aug.1I,A 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE 0F CORRECTION PatentNo., l$899,758 August 189 1959 Abe Samuele et al.,

It is hereby certified that error appears in the-printed specificationof' the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the saidLetters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column ,r, line 6, for "positions" reed m 'portions Signed and sealedthis 9th day of February 1960.,

(SEAL) Attest:

KARL Ho AXINE ROBERT C. WATSON Commissioner of Patents Attesting Officer

